When the customers of a failed SIPC member brokerage firm have left their securities in the custody of that firm, SIPC acts as quickly as possible to protect those customers. In this case, SIPC initiated the liquidation proceeding within hours of being notified by the [Securities and Exchange Commission] that a SIPC case was necessary to protect the investing public.

Which all sounds very speedy and efficient, and which is no doubt welcomed by MF Global’s customers. But the speed and efficiency with which SIPC responded to MF Global’s demise stands in stark contrast to its handling of the Stanford Financial case.

As I’ve written before, customers of Stanford’s SIPC-insured brokerage waited more than two years for the SEC to notify SIPC of the need to protect investors, and since that notification this summer, SIPC’s board has been dragging its feet. While it considered the issue at a September board meeting, there’s been no word since then, and Stanford’s U.S. brokerage customers remain in the dark.

The Stanford case was, of course, more difficult. The money investors lost was in the form of certificates of deposit backed by Stanford’s offshore bank that the brokerage peddled to its customers. But neither the SEC nor SIPC has acted “as quickly as possible.” As we approach the third anniversary of Stanford’s demise, it’s way past time for SIPC to make good on its obligations to Stanford’s victims.